Late Mistletoe
by CeliaEquus
Summary: The Head Girl's friends ask her to intervene when Peeves starts spreading mischief with his magical mistletoe. What happens in unexpected, to say the least. Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I'm making no money from this.


"Late Mistletoe"

"As if we didn't have enough of this at Christmas!"

"If poltergeists could be killed Peeves would _so_ be dead right now…"

"Why doesn't Dumbledore stop him? Or the Bloody Baron?"

"Someone should give him a taste of his own medicine."

"Can't you do something, Miss Head Girl?"

Hermione picked up the last question from the cacophony of voices around her and turned to Harry.

"What can I do? He wouldn't listen to me."

"Yeah, but you can at least get rid of the mistletoe, can't you?" Ron whined. "I mean, Ginny and I got caught under it before." Both Weasleys blushed to the tips of their ears. "Good thing there weren't many people around. If Mum heard about it she'd pulverise him."

"Wow. You know what that means," Hermione said, but she smiled affectionately. "I'll see what I can do, Ron. Can't have you smooching on your own sister, can we?" She stood up, setting her napkin down on the table. "I'll meet you at Hogsmeade later, okay?"

"Good luck," Parvati said.

"If I'm unsuccessful, Mrs. Weasley is our back-up. She can, as Ron put it, 'pulverise' him."

* * *

><p>But Hermione didn't want Peeves to be hurt; not really. Secretly, she rather liked the poltergeist. In some ways, he was her antithesis. (All right, in most ways.) But he had fought with them against Voldemort – even saved her life in the heat of battle – and they had called some kind of truce. Basically, he didn't prank Hermione and she didn't report him if ever she caught him in the process of pranking someone else outside of school time.<p>

It may not have been much of a deal, but whenever she did come across him they would talk, sometimes briefly, often longer, and she was surprised by how knowledgeable he was, although it shouldn't have shocked her. After all, he was the poltergeist of the greatest magical school in Britain. He was bound to pick something up, wasn't he?

"Peeves!" she called, roaming his favourite hallway on the third floor. "Where are you?"

A cackle heralded his arrival, and she turned quickly to face him.

"If it isn't the Head Girl, looking for old Peevsie," he said, upside down in the air. She cocked her head.

"Good morning," she said, bouncing a little where she stood. It may have been March, but it was still nippy. "How are you, Peeves?"

"As always," he said, and he began to circle her. She kept an eye on him at all times, but other than that she stayed in place.

"I've had complaints about you," she said. "I'm sure you can guess what those complaints are about."

"Hmm." He pretended to think. "Would they be about… _this_?"

He snapped his fingers and glanced upwards. She followed his gaze and gasped.

"You… you weren't going to do this sort of thing to me!" she said, and she glared at him. "Get rid of it."

"But, Miss Granger," he said, faking hurt, "it's so sad to see you all lonesome."

"I don't need the company of an irritating poltergeist," she snapped. Peeves scowled, and began to zoom away. Her eyes widened. "Wait! Wait." He paused. "I'm sorry."

He turned slowly and began to float back towards her, his face slowly twisting into a sly expression. She swallowed and looked down, right until the moment he was in front of her again. Once more he was hanging upside down.

"So," he said softly, and her head jerked up. She gulped again when she saw how close he was. But then an idea began to form. "You're sorry?"

"Very much so," she said, also whispering. "I shouldn't have said that. You just struck a nerve. I…" She averted her gaze again. "I _am_ lonely. But," she looked up, "you shouldn't use mistletoe as a way to get people together. Don't you realise how much trouble you have caused?" He continued to stare at her. "Which makes me think… that you have another reason for doing this."

"And what reason would Peeves have to do such a thing?" he asked.

"Well… look, this is making me dizzy. Could you please… turn over, as it were?"

"Anything for the Head Girl," he said, and in a quick movement he was hovering right-side-up in front of her. "Well?"

"I think that you were doing this," she waved her hand at the mistletoe hovering over her, "_thing_… just to get a girlfriend of your own."

Peeves cackled again, throwing his head back. When he finally calmed down and lowered his head, Hermione tilted hers up and, using his shoulders for balance, kissed him.

It was an interesting experience; it wasn't like kissing the air, but was more like kissing a feather. One of those really soft, downy kind of feathers, not the coarse kind used for standard quills. Or… or kissing a marshmallow.

But then she ran out of analogies as the shoulders seemed to broaden, and suddenly his lips felt a lot less like marshmallows, and more like… _lips_.

When she would have broken away to see what was going on, she felt arms go around her middle, yanking her up against a solid body, a _warm_, solid body. She gasped and the kiss was immediately deepened, sending her mind into some kind of meltdown. It wasn't until the hands went lower that it occurred to her that she was being held and caressed by a stranger – and that she was allowing it!

With a strangled moan she pulled back and gasped in some much-needed air. She had been in danger of passing out. As soon as her eyes focussed again, she examined the person in front of her.

He looked to be about her age, and had messy, red-brown hair, though part of the messiness was due to her hands. His eyes were dark grey, and they were currently looking her up and down. She blushed, and then looked at his clothes.

A school uniform. A _Slytherin_ school uniform.

But she'd never seen him before.

After about half a minute Hermione recalled what had led to this, and looked up. There was no mistletoe, and no Peeves.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked. The boy smirked.

"Thank you, Miss Head Girl," he said, and he swept a bow. She paled; she would know that voice anymore. "I knew the mistletoe thing would work."

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Peeves had quite a history, one which he willingly shared.<p>

Before Salazar Slytherin had left Hogwarts, he had chosen one of his students to stay on and create havoc for future students, though Muggleborns were supposed to be his sole target. Using Dark Magic, Slytherin had turned the boy – who was only a few months shy of graduating – into a poltergeist. However, he hadn't counted on Peeves having morals… or, to be more correct, a great lack of morals.

In other words, he didn't discriminate. He treated everyone with the same contempt and would prank anyone he chose. He became less dangerous over the centuries, preferring to have fun with people, rather than mercilessly cause them pain.

However, where there's a curse there's a way to undo it, and to undo this piece of Dark Magic – as Peeves had only recently discovered – he had to be kissed. While he wouldn't have cared who freed him, he wanted it to be Hermione Granger.

"Why?" she asked, still dazed where she sat opposite him in Dumbledore's office. The headmaster and the Heads of Houses were also there. "I mean… just… why _me_? Not that I'm complaining." At the arched eyebrows she received, she flushed. "I only mean that I'm happy to have helped! And if you had only come to me about it, I would have kissed you long ago." She turned redder, especially at the former poltergeist's slow grin. "It's simply an interesting thing to have been a part of. Why did you feel the need to trick me… and, again, why did you choose me?"

"I must admit, I am intrigued as well," Dumbledore said when Peeves chose to remain silent. They all stared, until he finally broke.

"Because I like you!" he said, looking at Hermione out of the corner of his eye. "All right? Why do you think I agreed not to prank you? I… I _like_ you." He crossed his arms and slumped in his seat. Hermione smiled, unable to stop blushing.

"Then I can understand you wanting it to be me, if you happen to… to like me. But you could have just asked." He mumbled something. "What did you say?"

"I said that I didn't think you'd want to," he muttered. "You don't like me in that way."

"Only because I don't know you," she said. "But I _do_ like you nonetheless."

He sat up, looking hopeful. "Really?"

"Yes," she said, and she bit her lower lip before glancing at the headmaster, having just remembered where they were. Dumbledore chuckled.

"Mr. Peeves has yet to finish his education," he said. "Do you feel confident about sitting the NEWTs?"

"I… I think so," Peeves said, having perked up. "Yes, sir."

"Just in case, perhaps Miss Granger should help you study?" Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Well, you wouldn't want him to fail after having waited _this_ long to do his final exams, would you?"

"N-no, sir."

"Then that's settled." He clapped his hands. "Very good. Professor Snape will take you to the dungeons, Mr. Peeves. And welcome back to school."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Peeves said, standing up. He looked at Hermione shyly. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Uh… yes," she said, giving herself a shake. "Yes. And we have classes on Monday."

He smiled, and then he and the professors left, leaving Hermione and Dumbledore alone together.

"Headmaster," she said, almost hesitating, "you're not… are you?"

"What is that, my dear?"

"Are you… are you trying to set us up together or something ridiculous like that?" she asked. He popped a sweet into his mouth.

"Now what on earth gave you that idea?" he said.

"Oh, I don't know," she said. "Just a feeling."

He chuckled. "I fail to see what would be so ridiculous about it," he said. "Peeves has had a unique experience. If nothing else, he requires a friend, and who knows? Perhaps his crush will turn into something more?" He leant forward. "And perhaps – _perhaps_ – your feelings for him, the feelings that you try to deny, will become something more substantial as well?"

"_My_ feelings for _him_?"

"I rather fancy that you could fall in love with each other, given time, and I see no problem with that. You complement each other, my dear." He pushed the bowl forward. "Raspberry sherbet?"

"Um… no, thank you." She stood slowly. "May I go now, sir?"

"Of course, Miss Granger."

When she reached the door she turned her head.

"Do you really think that we complement each other?" she said.

"Hermione, I believe that you could be two halves of a whole," he said gently. "And what could be a greater contrast – a greater partnership, come to that – than a Gryffindor and a Slytherin? Think on it."

"I will, sir."

* * *

><p>If there's something to be said about Albus Dumbledore, he is very rarely wrong.<p>

And when it came to Hermione Granger and Plutonius (Tony) Peeves, he was spot on.

* * *

><p><strong>I have no idea where 'Plutonius' came from. Probably because I considered calling him 'Pluto' and decided that it needed more. For a nickname, he would have Tony, otherwise there would be Loony Tunes references.<strong>

**This is clearly not a sequel to "Finding True Happiness", but has a similar concept of Hermione turning Peeves into a human.**

**Well, how else could they be together? Precisely.**


End file.
